


you don't keep them for yourself

by spirallingnotes



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Birthday oneshot, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-19 04:47:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29620839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spirallingnotes/pseuds/spirallingnotes
Summary: bright moon has a lot of traditions. birthdays are one of them.
Relationships: Adora & Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	you don't keep them for yourself

**Author's Note:**

> "soft and slow, watch the minutes go, count out loud, so we know you don't keep them for yourself"
> 
> in which adora takes things very seriously.

Birthdays, as Bow described them, had never been a thing in the Horde.

The cadets knew how old they were, more or less, with cadets of a similar age being placed together in a squad of five before they'd seen as many years. But there was no specific day to celebrate. They were all one age at the beginning of the year, and by the end they were a year older - that was all that mattered.

The closest thing that they had to a personal record of growth were their yearly physical evaluations in which they were weighed, measured, and examined to see if they were in good enough form to continue training. If there were any drastic changes to their bodies, they were permitted to seek out a better-fitting uniform, but beyond that it was a day like any other. Each cadet had been assigned a day for their evaluation to take place when they had been taken in by the Horde, but there was nothing particularly special about it.

"Still!" Bow exclaims after she explains this to him. “That’s kind of like a birthday, right?"

"I guess so," Adora concedes, kneading at a pillow. Sleepovers with Bow and Glimmer are different to sleepovers in the Horde. She finds herself talking about a lot of things that had been too ingrained into her life to bother examining before she'd left. It's strange, like the still-too-soft bed or the smog-free air or the immense space that's supposed to be solely hers. But Bow and Glimmer seem interested, so she answers their questions and ignores the occasional pitying glances the best she can.

"When is it?" Glimmer asks. "We're _obviously_ throwing you a party!"

"You don't have to do that," Adora replies immediately, "but it was a week ago -" The day she had been promoted. The day she had found the sword. "- the day we met." She smiles at them both and feels the creeping sadness dissipate as they grin back at her.

"Well, we can't just wait another _year_ to celebrate with you," Glimmer says, eyes gleaming. Without warning, she bounces forward and grabs Adora and Bow by the arm, teleporting them into one of the Bright Moon kitchens. "Now, where are the..." she trails off, materialising around the room, opening cupboards and drawers with reckless abandon.

"The - what?" Adora stands awkwardly by the counter as Bow, somehow in tune with Glimmer's plan already, brings a small plate from a fridge, bearing a food that she doesn't recognise. A shout of triumph from the far corner echoes around the room as Glimmer flourishes two things that Adora _does_ recognise - a candle and a box of matches. Bow places the plate on the counter; Glimmer places the candle in the food on top of it, setting it alight. 

"This is a birthday cake," Bow explains at Adora's blank expression. "Like a regular cake, but just for your birthday."

"It's a little short notice for an all-out party,” Glimmer continues, "but I figured we could do the most important birthday activity right now!"

Adora nods vaguely. 'Cake' isn't something she'd ever heard of in the Fright Zone, but she recalls that at the party in Thaymor (before...before...) most of the food there had been sweet. If cake is supposed to be a birthday party staple, then she imagines it will be sweet as well.

"What's with the candle?"

"You blow it ou- wait! Not yet - you have to make a birthday wish!" Bow places his arms on her shoulders, standing between her and the maybe-sweet-treat. Adora tries her best to hide her frown.

"What's that supposed to be?"

"Something you really want for the next year. If you think about it when you blow the candles out, then it's supposed to come true."

"Can I wish to eat the cake?"

Glimmer rolls her eyes. "You're _going_ to eat the cake, that doesn't count. It has to be something bigger. And something that could actually happen."

Adora stares at the flickering light. Something big but also realistic. Something that's not certain to happen but could. Something she really wants. Bile threatens to rise in her throat. Her hands grow clammy. Adora's wants had always been carefully packaged away from the centre of her mind, save for those Shadow Weaver had deemed useful to her.

 _Is this not what you've wanted since you were old enough to want anything?_

Logically, she knows that becoming Force Captain wasn't about destruction and power for her. She'd wanted to protect the planet from what she’d believed were the insidious forces of the Rebellion; bring order to cities and towns. She'd wanted to _help_ people. Yet a quiet voice still taunts her when she's alone with her thoughts. How could she not have known what was actually happening?

She shakes the thoughts away. There's no time to dwell on her mistakes as Bow and Glimmer peer at her through the darkness. She's with the Rebellion now, fighting to defeat the Horde and protect Etheria. If they continue recruiting princesses like Glimmer had proposed, the Rebellion is sure to become powerful enough to carry out its mission.

Adora runs through Glimmer's checklist: the Rebellion winning the war is not certain but not impossible either, and big enough to warrant extra assistance from whatever birthday officers control the outcome of her wishes. Taking a step forward, she tries to think the words as clearly as she can. _The end of the war._ From what Adora knows of princesses, they'd probably have a party to commemorate the occasion. Buns and sweets and fruits like there had been in Thaymor; Perfuma and her people decorating the palace with flowers; Bow and Glimmer by her side, dancing and laughing together and maybe, with the war over -

Half-whispered cheers interrupt her daydream, and her eyes refocus on the smoke that now trails from the extinguished candle. She feels herself engulfed in a hug from both sides, something tighter squeezing at her heart.

"Sooo, what'd you wish for?" Bow grins as Glimmer disappears in search of forks and knives to eat with. "Wait, no, you can't tell me, or it won't come true!"

Adora forces a tight smile, willing her eyes not to spill over. She couldn't have told him the truth, even if she’d wanted to. That the saviour of Etheria had let her thoughts stray from the planet to her princess friends - to something else entirely. That she'd messed up the tradition, messed up the chance to make the year ahead any easier, because as she blew the candles out her mind was filled with nothing but a face with brilliant blue and yellow eyes.


End file.
